HIST 5311-501

W 7:00 – 9:50 p.m.

INTRO TO HISTORIOGRAPHY

Professor Natalie J. Ring

Phone: 972-883-2365
Email: nring@utdallas.edu
Office: JO 5.610
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 3-5 p.m. or by appointment

This course is intended to introduce graduate students to the concept of historiography or what might be
referred to as the “history” of the discipline of history. Historians bring their own viewpoints,
assumptions, and cultural biases to their interpretations of the past. The social and political context in
which they write frequently shapes their analysis as well. We will look at how historians’ methodological
approaches, narrative strategies, and their use of primary sources have shifted over time, particularly
focusing on main developments in the discipline of U.S. history in the past several decades. Mastering
historiography is part of professional training as a historian and students should end the course with a
clearer understanding of which historiographical tradition reflects their own scholarly interests.

Required Texts:

The following books can be purchased at the UTD bookstore or at Off Campus Books located at 581 W.
Campbell Road, #101.

Gail Bederman, Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States,
1880-1917
David Blight, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory
David G. Gutiérrez, Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants and the Politics of
Ethnicity
Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeomen Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia
Upcountry, 1850-1890
Kristin Hoganson, Fighting for American Manhood: How Gender Politics Provoked the Spanish-
American and Philippine-American Wars,
Georg Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century: From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern
Challenge
Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692
Peter Novick, That Noble Dream: The ‘Objectivity Question’ and the American Historical
Profession
David Roediger, The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class, revised
edition
Christine Stansell, City of Women: Sex and Class in New York, 1789-1860

Required Articles:

The following articles can be found on the McDermott Library electronic reserves website.

*Alice Kessler-Harris, “Social History,” in Eric Foner, ed., The New American History (Philadelphia:
Temple Press, 1997, expanded edition), p. 231-256.
*George Lipsitz, “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness” in The Possessive Investment in Whiteness:
How White People Profit From Identity Politics (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998), 1-23.
*Joan Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis” in Gender and the Politics of History
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1999, revised edition) , p. 28-52.
*Thomas Bender, “Cultural and Intellectual History,” in Eric Foner, ed., The New American History
(Philadelphia: Temple Press, 1997, expanded edition), p. 181-202.

The following articles can be found on McDermott Library e-journal databases. The database where you
will locate the article is noted on the class schedule below.

*Interchange: The Practice of History,” Journal of American History 90(September 2003): 576-611.
*Shawn Everett Kantor and Morgan J. Kousser, “Common Sense or Commonwealth? The Fence Law
and Institutional Change in the South,” Journal of Southern History 59(May 1993): 201-242.
*Steven Hahn, “A Response: Common Sense or Historical Cents?” Journal of Southern History 59(May
1993): 243-258.
* Shawn Everett Kantor and Morgan J. Kousser, “A Rejoinder: Two Visions of History,” ,” Journal of
Southern History 59(May 1993): 259-256.
*Alon Confino, “Collective History and Cultural Memory: Problems of Method,” American Historical
Review 102 (Dec. 1997): 1386-1403.
* Peter Kolchin, “Whiteness Studies: The New History of Race in America,” Journal of American
History 89(June 2002): 154-73.
*Roundtable: Scholarly Controversy: Whiteness and the Historians’ Imagination," International Labor
and Working-Class History, 60 (Fall 2001): 1-92.
Judith Stein, “Whiteness and United States History: An Assessment”
Eric Arnesen, "Whiteness and the Historians' Imagination”
James R. Barrett, “Whiteness Studies: Anything Here for Historians of the Working Class?”
David Brody, “Charismatic History: Pros and Cons”
Barbara J. Fields, “Whiteness, Racism, and Identity”
Eric Foner, “Response to Eric Arneson”
Victoria Hattam, “Whiteness: Theorizing Race, Eliding Ethnicity”
Adolph Reed, “Response to Eric Arneson”
Eric Arneson, “Assessing Whiteness Scholarship: A Response to James Barrett, David Brody,
Barbara Fields, Eric Foner, Victoria Hattam, and Adolph Reed
*Daniel Wickberg, “Heterosexual White Male: Some Recent Inversions in Cultural History,” Journal of
American History 92(June 2005): 136-59.
* David G. Gutiérrez, “Migration, Emergent Ethnicity, and the ‘Third Space’: The Shifting Politics of
Nationalism in Greater Mexico,” Journal of American History 86(Sept. 1999): 481-517.

Class Attendance and Participation: The success of this seminar depends on your regular attendance
and active participation. I take my attendance policy in my graduate classes very seriously since you are
pursuing a higher degree and are receiving professional training. This is not an undergraduate course and
you are expected to atte nd EVERY class. If you cannot make that commitment than please drop the
course. We meet only once a week so attendance should not be an issue. We are here to exchange ideas
and learn from each other, thus lack of attendance or participation also hurts the entire class. 20% of your
grade will be based on your contributions to weekly discussions and on your ability to listen to the
contributions of your colleagues.

Seminar Facilitation: During the course of the semester, you will facilitate the discussio n for one
session. Given the large number of students registered for this course you will most likely have to do this
in conjunction with someone else (in this instance you will each receive an independent grade). If you are
presenting alone keep your presentation under 15 minutes. If you are paired with another person, each
individual should keep their presentation under 10 minutes. You are advised to give a brief introduction
to the material, which may include outlining the broader historiographical debates of which the book is a
part or discussing the broader concerns/issues the book raises. Do not simply summarize the book,
chapter by chapter. You will also generate discussion questions for the class and take the lead in
discussion. You are expected to turn in your list of questions and a general outline of your presentation to
the professor. Students have found it helpful if you hand out copies of your questions in hard copy form.
Seminar facilitation will comprise 20% of your grade.

Historiograpical Paper: You will submit a 20-25 page historiographical paper on a topic of your choice
in U.S. History, focusing on anywhere from 6-7 books outside of the reading list. You are expected to
outline the major debates in the field and consider the books in relation to one another. You might ask
some of the following questions before you begin writing: What debates are driving the field? Have the
questions being asked remained the same or have they changed over time? What are the key areas of
disagreement? What are the key areas of agreement? Have any new schools of thought developed in this
field? How has the historical context in which these historians have written shaped their analysis, if at
all? What methodologies or theoretical models dominate the discussions? How do the sources used
liberate or constrain the analysis?

You are responsible for meeting with the professor to discuss your topic no later than Sept. 16. You will
turn in a bibliography and a short abstract (100-150 words) detailing your topic on Sept. 21. After
receiving my feedback on your first draft you will turn the final version of the abstract and bibliography
in on Oct. 12. Once the final abstract has been turned in you may not change your subject of study nor
may you add or subtract any of the books on your list. Some examples of topics include: slavery and
women; imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; labor conflict in the 20th century; westward
expansion, 20th century urban history; witchcraft in colonial America; Native American history in the
colonial era; antebellum cultural history; the black power movement; black middle -class activism in the
Progressive Era; Cold War culture; and the history of masculinity. There are many more potential areas
of study. The paper will comprise 60% of your grade.

Papers in electronic form (email attachments) will not be accepted. The paper must be submitted in hard
copy form without cover pages or special folders. Please make sure your paper is stapled (no paper clips),
paginated, and double -spaced with 11-12 point font (preferably Times New Roman). If you need to
annotate the paper please use either footnotes or endnotes. Consistency is key. The most appropriate
guide for an Arts & Humanities class is Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,
and Dissertations (6th ed., Chicago, 1996).

Communication: It is important that you have a network ID (netid) and can log onto your university
email account. All course correspondence by email must now occur through the student’s UTD email
address. Faculty cannot reply to personal email accounts. UTD provides you with a network ID that is to
be used in all communication with university personnel. NOTE: The UTD Department of Information
Resources provides a method for students to forward their UTD email to other personal or business email
accounts.

Incompletes and Extensions: The general rule is do not ask for a one unless you have suffered from
serious illness or acute personal crises, such as the death of a relative. Please inform the professor as soon
as you are aware of a problem. Late work will be heavily penalized (1/3 letter grade per day, weekends
included). In order to obtain an incomplete you must have completed 70% of the coursework and must
have a reasonable expectation of completing the course in the specified time period. Failure to complete
the course on the time specified will result in the conversion of the incomplete to an F.

Classroom Protocol: First, please ensure that your cell phones are turned OFF during the class. Second,
please make an effort to arrive to class on time and avoid leaving early. Late arrivals and early departures
are distracting to both the professor and the students in the classroom. Frequently information regarding
course assignments and other matters is given at the start of class and tardiness will lead you to miss
important announcements.

Academic Integrity Policy: Academic dishonesty of any kind on any assignment will not be tolerated.
Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and falsifying academic records. Integrity
and honesty are of the utmost importance. Any student caught plagiarizing will receive an F for the class.
For more information on what constitutes plagiarism or cheating and the repercussions of doing so please
see http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/dishonesty.html

Finally enjoy the semester! If you have any questions or concerns ple ase feel free to contact me
immediately.

Course Schedule : The following is subject to change at the discretion of the professor.

Week 1: No scheduled class

Week 2: (Aug. 24) Introduction to Class

Week 3: (Aug. 31) The Question of Objectivity

Reading: Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century, p. 1-117
Novick, That Noble Dream, p. 1-360

Week 4: (Sept. 7) Objectivity Deconstructed

Reading: Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century, p. 118-160
Novick, That Noble Dream, p. 361-632
“Interchange: The Practice of History” (J-STOR)

Week 5: (Sept. 14) Social History of Women

Reading: Stansell, City of Women
Kessler-Harris, “Social History”

Week 6: (Sept. 21) Economy or Ideology?

Reading: Hahn, Roots of Southern Populism
Kantor and Kousser, “Commonwealth or Common Sense?” (J-STOR)
Hahn, “A Response “A Response” (J-STOR)
Kantor and Kousser, “A Rejoinder” (J-STOR)
TURN IN ABSTRACT AND BOOK LIST FOR HISTORIOGRAPHY PAPER

Week 7: (Sept. 28) History and Memory

Reading: Blight, Race and Reunion
Confino, “Collective Memory and Cultural History” (J-STOR)

Week 8: (Oct. 5) The Politics of Gender

Reading: Hogganson, “Fighting For American Manhood”
Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Analysis”

Week 9: (Oct. 12) Cultural History

Reading: Bederman, Manliness and Civilization
Bender, “Intellectual and Cultural History”
TURN IN FINAL ABSTRACT AND LIST FOR PAPER
Week 10: (Oct. 19) Whiteness and the Working-Class
Reading: Roediger, Wages of Whiteness

Week 11: (Oct. 26) Whiteness Studies

Reading: Lipsitz, “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness” (RESERVE)
Roundtable: Scholarly Controversy: Whiteness and the Historians’
Imagination” (Cambridge Journals Online)
Kolchin, “Whiteness Studies” (J-STOR)
Wickberg, “Heterosexual White Male s (J-STOR)

Week 13: (Nov. 2) Ethnicity and Identity Politics

Reading: Gutiérrez, Walls and Mirrors
Gutiérrez, “Migration, Ethnicity, and the Emergent ‘Third Space’” (J-STOR)

Week 14: (Nov. 16) New Interpretations of Familiar Documents

Reading: Norton, In the Devil’s Snare

Week 15: (Nov. 23) Use class time to work on your historiography paper

FINAL PAPER DUE ON DECEMBER 2 (no later than 5:00 p.m.)